Hang Up and Listen

Hosts Alex Kirshner, Lindsay Gibbs, and Ben Lindbergh break down the Seattle Seahawks’ brickwall defense in the Super Bowl, plus Bad Bunny’s refreshing halftime performance.

The panel then pivots to the stranger corners of the NBA trade deadline before welcoming college sports writer Jesse Dougherty, who discusses his experience as part of the Washington Post sports desk that was recently eliminated in a round of mass layoffs.
Ben has an Afterball on Team USA’s World Baseball Classic glow-up.
On the bonus episode, available exclusively for Slate Plus members, the panel talks about week one of the Olympics.

Super Bowl (3:06): The Only Thing More Powerful Than Hate Is Love
NBA Trades (22:10): Anthony Davis is banished to Washington
Washington Post cuts (39:36): A historic sports section is no more
Afterballs (01:04:44): Ben on a new WBC dream team

(Note: time codes are only accurate for Slate Plus members, who listen ad-free.)

Get more Hang Up and Listen with Slate Plus! Join for weekly bonus episodes of Hang Up and Listen and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Hang Up and Listen show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/hangupplus for access wherever you listen.

You can email us at [email protected].

Podcast production and editing by Kevin Bendis, with production assistance from Patrick Fort.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts Alex Kirshner, Lindsay Gibbs, and Ben Lindbergh kick things off by picking their favorite (and the most horrifying) events to watch at the upcoming Winter Olympics.

Then the panel digs into Bill Belichick’s bizarre Hall of Fame snub. They finish with a conversation with the Athletic’s Matthew Fairburn about the Buffalo Sabres, the NHL’s most playoff-averse team that might actually make the postseason this year.
Ben delivers an Afterball on Jordan Smith, the amateur tennis player who stunned the field at the Australian Open’s 1 Point Slam and walked away with one million dollars.
On the bonus episode, available exclusively for Slate Plus members, the panel discusses Novak Djokovic's Grand Slam dreams being dashed once again.

Olympics Preview (4:38): Get ready for ‘Skimo’ fever
Bill Belichick (27:19): The Spygate punishment
Buffalo Sabres (41:05): Can the city shake its playoff malaise?

(Note: time codes are only accurate for Slate Plus members, who listen ad-free.)

Get more Hang Up and Listen with Slate Plus! Join for weekly bonus episodes of Hang Up and Listen and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Hang Up and Listen show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/hangupplus for access wherever you listen.

You can email us at [email protected].

Podcast production and editing by Kevin Bendis, with production assistance from Patrick Fort.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts Alex Kirshner, Lindsay Gibbs, and Ben Lindbergh recap NFL conference championship weekend, where the Patriots braved a blizzard better than the Broncos, and Sam Darnold proved that resurrected quarterbacks really can win it all.

Later, they get into Trinity Rodman’s three-year NWSL deal that keeps her in D.C., but has caught the ire of the players’ union.

The panel wraps with a breakdown of the Mets' busy offseason and whether they can actually come out on top in 2026.

On the bonus episode, available exclusively for Slate Plus members, the panel discusses Alex Honnold's white-knuckle climb of the Taipei 101 tower live on Netflix.

NFL (4:16): Resurrection Bowl
Trinity Rodman (23:27): Cap space for star power
The Mets (41:04): Can we still LOL?

(Note: time codes are only accurate for Slate Plus members, who listen ad-free.)

Get more Hang Up and Listen with Slate Plus! Join for weekly bonus episodes of Hang Up and Listen and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Hang Up and Listen show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/hangupplus for access wherever you listen.

You can email us at [email protected].

Podcast production and editing by Kevin Bendis, with production assistance from Patrick Fort.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts Alex Kirshner, Lindsay Gibbs, and Ben Lindbergh are joined by Fried Egg Golf’s Brendan Porath to examine the crumbling of LIV Golf in the wake of Brooks Koepka’s reinstatement by the PGA Tour.

Then Alex and Ben speak to author Chuck Klosterman about his new book, simply titled, Football. Klosterman predicts the eventual demise of America’s most beloved sport, and explains why it will be widely misunderstood by future generations.

The panel wraps with more football, breaking down the College Football Playoff national championship and the NFL postseason.

On the bonus episode, available exclusively for Slate Plus members, the panel discusses the Kyle Tucker acquisition by the Dodgers and whether it's finally time for an MLB salary cap.

LIV Golf (8:22): Koepka is out and takes his punishments
Klosterman (25:49): When football is no more
CFB (01:02:27): Hoosiers are no longer the biggest losers

(Note: time codes are only accurate for Slate Plus members, who listen ad-free.)

Get more Hang Up and Listen with Slate Plus! Join for weekly bonus episodes of Hang Up and Listen and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Hang Up and Listen show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/hangupplus for access wherever you listen.

You can email us at [email protected].

Podcast production and editing by Kevin Bendis, with production assistance from Patrick Fort.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosts Alex Kirshner, Lindsay Gibbs, and Ben Lindbergh unpack a thrilling wild-card round of the NFL playoffs. Lindsay’s Panthers are out, John Harbaugh has been fired, the reigning champions exit early, and Caleb Williams grated some cheese.

The panel is then joined by soccer journalist Hayden Van Brewer to explain how Manchester United have gotten so abysmally bad over the years. To close, Lindsay and Ben ask Alex to break down the College Football Playoffs and the upcoming championship game.
On the bonus episode, available exclusively for Slate Plus members, the panel talks about the new viral queer hockey romance, Heated Rivalry.

NFL (4:52): Bye Eagles, Bye
Man U (20:35): Bent and broken
CFB (38:41): How Indiana reached the top

(Note: time codes are only accurate for Slate Plus members, who listen ad-free.)

Get more Hang Up and Listen with Slate Plus! Join for weekly bonus episodes of Hang Up and Listen and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the Hang Up and Listen show page on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or visit slate.com/hangupplus for access wherever you listen.

You can email us at [email protected].

Podcast production and editing by Kevin Bendis, with production assistance from Patrick Fort.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.